Preliminary METRO GROUP sales in Q1 2013/14, adjusted for currency effects and portfolio changes, grew by 1.1%. Reported sales declined by 3.3% to €18.7 billion mainly due to negative currency effects in many parts of Eastern Europe and Asia, as well as the missing sales of Real Russia, Romania, Ukraine and Media Markt China. "All in all, our new financial year got off to a solid start in spite of the still challenging economic backdrop; soft Christmas sales prevented a better development. Our like-for-like sales development as well as our sales growth (adjusted for currency effects and portfolio changes) are nevertheless in line with our guidance", said Olaf Koch, CEO of METRO AG. "Also in the first quarter 2013/14, the implemented transformation process has led to a METRO GROUP sales trend improvement. We shall continue our transformation in order to create further value for both our customers and shareholders", said Koch.

METRO GROUP's transformation process continued into the FY 2013/14 with its online and delivery sales shares growing further. METRO GROUP has thus not only become more customer-relevant, but has also strengthened its market position in numerous cases. In Q1 2013/14, METRO GROUP opened a total of 36 new stores across 9 countries, of which 10 METRO Cash & Carry, 25 Media-Saturn and 1 Real hypermarket. 20 new store openings took place in the important expansion countries Russia, China, India and Turkey. Both Egyptian MAKRO Cash & Carry stores were closed down as METRO AG's Management Board sees currently no sustainable wholesale expansion opportunities here due to current affairs and the limited market position.

Media-Saturn

The like-for-like sales trend at Media-Saturn improved against FY 2012/13 (pro-forma). In Germany, reported sales met the excellent prior year’s level; like-for-like sales were slightly down also due to the high prior year base. The sales development in Western Europe was slightly positive – the development in Spain and the Netherlands was pleasing; like-for-like sales were flat. Eastern European sales grew in local currency; both Hungary and Turkey reported considerable double-digit sales growth. In like-for-like terms, sales in Eastern Europe declined. Online sales at Media-Saturn significantly increased by more than 40% - here both very good multichannel sales and a satisfactory development at Redcoon contributed.

Media-Saturn

Q1 2012/13
(Q4 2012)

Q1 2013/14

Sales (in € bn.)

6.6

6.6

Change (€)

1.3%

-0.7%

Change
(in local currency)

0.6%

0.3%

Like-for-like change
(in local currency)

-3.1%

-1.2%

Real

German like-for-like sales declined by 2.0% on account of the relatively high prior year base and the very competitive market conditions, especially from discounters. Furthermore, reductions in food prices took place.

METRO GROUP is one of the largest and most international retailing companies. The Group reached sales of around €66 billion in the financial year 2012/13 (based on pro-forma calculating period 1.10.2012-30.9.2013 due to short financial year 2013). The company has a headcount of around 265,000 employees and operates around 2,200 stores in 32 countries. The performance of METRO GROUP is based on the strength of its sales brands which operate independently in their respective market segment: METRO/MAKRO Cash & Carry – the international leader in self-service wholesale, Real hypermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn – European market leader in consumer electronics retailing, and Galeria Kaufhof department stores.